National Polling Summary

In 2006 and 2008, Dan Seals took on entrenched, popular Republican Congressman Mark Kirk - running one of the closest races in the country. Now running for an open seat, Dan represents one of Democrats' best opportunities for a pickup in 2010. Dan is a successful businessman who has held leadership positions at Sprint and G.E. Capital. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, and has taught public policy at Northwestern University. Dan was raised by a single mom -- a social worker on the South Side of Chicago. He worked as a teacher, and after completing his master's degree Dan won a prestigious President Management Fellowship to work on economic development and trade isues with the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Senate. Dan is a fiscal moderate and social progressive who says that the most urgent issue is the economy. He will invest in small businesses to create jobs while working to lower the cost of healthcare, and reform energy policy and education. To learn more about Dan visit him here.

December 2, 2009
Anzalone Liszt Research
National Polling Summary

Welcome to the Anzalone Liszt Research National Polling Summary, a quick look at national public polls detailing key political environmental measures as well as attitudes of voters on the pressing issues of the week.

With President Obama's announcement of his new Afghanistan strategy this week, Afghanistan is front and center in Washington. The American public currently has mixed emotions on the President's plan. Currently, 50% favor sending the thirty-four thousand troops to Afghanistan with 49% opposing it. It will be interesting to see if, like the September healthcare address, his speech will shape public opinion and build additional support for his plan. Clearly, Afghanistan is not a new issue and one that is not going away, but the American public is only now beginning to focus on the critical decisions ahead of us.

Enjoy,

John Anzalone and Jeff Liszt

Afghanistan

Would you favor or oppose Barack Obama sending 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan?

Polling Firm	Date	Favor	Oppose
CNN/ ORC	11/15/09	50%	49%

CNN/ ORC: If Barack Obama decided to send about 34,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, would you favor or oppose that decision?

Support for the war in Afghanistan

Polling Firm	Date	Favor	Oppose
CNN/ ORC	11/15/09	45%	52%

CNN/ ORC: Do you favor or oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan?

President Obama's Job Rating on Afghanistan

Polling Firm	Date	Approve	Disapprove	Und/ Neutral
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	45%	48%	6%
AP-GfK	11/9/09	42%	48%	10%

Health Care

Who do you trust to do a better job handling health care reform

Polling Firm	Date	Obama	Reps	Neither
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	50%	37%	10%

Approval rating on handling health care for

	Polling Firm	Date	Approve	Disapprove	Und
Obama	CBS	11/15/09	44%	48%	8%
Dems in Cong.	CBS	11/15/09	30%	59%	11%
Reps in Cong.	CBS	11/15/09	23%	62%	15%

House passed Healthcare Reform Bill

Polling Firm	Date	Total Favor	Total Oppose	Oppose: Not Liberal Enough	Oppose: Too Liberal	Oppose Other Reasons	Unsure
CNN/ORC	11/15/09	46%	49%	10%	34%	3%	8%

CNN/ ORC: As you may know, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would make major changes in the country's health care system. Based on what you have heard or read about that bill, do you generally favor it or generally oppose it? If oppose: Do you oppose that bill because you think its approach toward health care is too liberal, or because you think its approach toward health care is not liberal enough?

Support for Health Care Reform Proposals

Polling Firm	Date	Support/ Favor	Oppose	DK Enough/ Neither/ No opinion
CBS	11/16/09	40%	45%	15%
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	48%	49%	-

CBS: From what you've heard or read, do you mostly approve or mostly disapprove of the proposed changes to the health care system under consideration in Congress? ABC/ Wash Post: Overall, given what you know about them, would you say you support or oppose the proposed changes to the health care system being developed by Congress and the Obama administration?

Reason for opposing health care reform proposals

Polling Firm	Date	Oppose: Don't go far enough	Oppose: go too far
Ipsos/ McClatchy	11/22/09	25%	66%

Ipsos/ McClatchy: Asked of those that said they oppose healthcare reform proposals- You said you are opposed to healthcare reform proposals presently being discussed. Is that because you favor healthcare reform overall but think the current proposals don't go far enough to reform healthcare. Or, Is that because you oppose healthcare reform overall and think the current proposals go too far in reforming healthcare?

Public Option Support

Polling Firm	Date	Support/ Favor/ Include	Oppose/ Don't Include
CBS	11/16/09	61%	28%
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	53%	43%
CNN/ORC	11/1/09	55%	44%

CBS: Would you favor or oppose the government offering some people who are uninsured the choice of a government-administered health insurance plan - also known as a 'public option' - that would compete with private health insurance plans? ABC/ Wash Post: Would you support or oppose having the government create a new health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance plans? CNN/ORC: Now thinking specifically about the health insurance plans available to most Americans, would you favor or oppose creating a public health insurance option administered by the federal government that would compete with plans offered by private health insurance companies?

Should Congress pass a healthcare bill with the public option

Polling Firm	Date	Pass bill with public option	Pass bill w/o public option	Don't pass any bill	Unsure
CBS	11/15/09	51%	16%	26%	7%

CBS: Which of the following comes closest to your view about the proposed changes to the health care system now under consideration in Congress? (1) Congress should pass a health care bill that includes a government-administered health insurance plan also called a public option. (2) Congress should pass a health care bill that does not include government-administered health insurance plan also called a public option, Or, (3) Congress should not pass any health care bill.

The Economy

Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy?

Polling Firm	Date	Obama	Reps
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	52%	37%

View of the Stimulus Package and Job Creation

Polling Firm	Date	It has created jobs	It will create jobs	It will not create jobs	Unsure
CBS	11/16/09	7%	46%	42%	5%

CBS: From what you know so far, which comes closest to your own view? The economic stimulus package has already created a substantial number of new jobs in the U.S. Or, It will create a substantial number of new jobs but hasn't done that yet. Or, It will not create a substantial number of new jobs.

Who is responsible for the current economic problems-Democrats or Republicans?

Polling Firm	Date	Democrats	Republicans	Both Equally	Neither
CNN/ ORC	11/15/09	27%	38%	27%	6%

CNN/ ORC: Do you think the Democrats or the Republicans are more responsible for the country's current economic problems?

President Obama's Job Rating on the Economy

Polling Firm	Date	Approve	Disapprove
CBS	11/16/09	49%	43%
AP-GfK	11/9/09	46%	49%

US Bureau of Labor Statistics Unemployment Rate

Date	Rate
Oct. 2009	10.2%
Sept. 2009	9.8%
August 2009	9.7%
Oct. 2008	6.6%

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index

Polling Firm	Date
CB	Nov.	49.5
CB	Oct.	48.7
CB	Sept.	53.1

President Obama

President Obama's Job Rating

Polling Firm	Date	Positive/ Approve	Negative/ Disapprove
Gallup	11/28/09	51%	41%
Gallup/ USA Today	11/22/09	49%	44%
ARG	11/20/09	51%	44%

President Obama's Popularity

Polling Firm	Date	Favorable	Unfavorable
Daily Kos/ Research 2000	11/25/09	53%	40%
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	61%	38%

The Parties and Congress

Who is the most influential conservative voice?

Polling Firm	Date	Limbaugh	Beck	Palin	Cheney
CBS	11/8/09	26%	11%	10%	10%

Which political party, the Democrats or the Republicans, do you think ?

	Polling Firm	Date	Dems	Reps	Neither
Better represents your own personal values	ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	49%	39%	9%
Is more concerned with the needs of people like you	ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	51%	36%	9%

Who do you trust to do a better job in coping with the main problems the nation faces over the next few years?

Polling Firm	Date	Dems	Reps	Neither
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	47%	31%	17%

ABC/ Wash Post: Overall, which party - the Democrats or the Republicans - do you trust to do a better job in coping with the main problems the nation faces over the next few years?

Party Self Identification

Polling Firm	Date	Dems	Reps	Ind/Und
ARG	11/20/09	35%	23%	33%
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	35%	21%	40%

2010 Congressional Generic Ballot

Polling Firm	Date	Dems	Reps	Und/ Other
Daily Kos/ Research 2000	11/25/09	37%	32%	31%
CNN/ ORC	11/15/09	49%	42%	-

Would you like to see your representative re-elected?

Polling Firm	Election Year	Date	Yes	No
Pew	2010	11/8/09	52%	29%
Pew	2006	Sep. 2005	57%	25%
Pew	2002	June 2002	58%	23%

Enthusiasm about voting

Polling Firm	Planning on voting	Date	Very enthusiastic	S'what enthusiastic	Not too/ at all enthusiastic
Pew	Republican	11/8/09	58%	28%	13%
Pew	Democratic	11/8/09	42%	37%	17%

Congressional Job Rating

	Polling Firm	Date	Approve	Disapprove	Unsure
Congress	Fox	11/18/09	26%	63%	11%
Dems	Quinnipiac	11/16/09	36%	55%	9%
Reps	Quinnipiac	11/16/09	31%	58%	11%

United States Direction

Polling Firm	Date	Right Direction	Wrong Direction	No Opinion/ Mixed
Daily Kos/ Research 2000	11/25/09	40%	57%	3%
ABC/ Wash Post	11/15/09	44%	55%	2%

Afghanistan

Would you favor or oppose Barack Obama sending 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan?

Polling Firm

Date

Favor

Oppose

CNN/ ORC

11/15/09

50%

49%

CNN/ ORC: If Barack Obama decided to send about 34,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, would you favor or oppose that decision?

Support for the war in Afghanistan

Polling Firm

Date

Favor

Oppose

CNN/ ORC

11/15/09

45%

52%

CNN/ ORC: Do you favor or oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan?

President Obama's Job Rating on Afghanistan

Polling Firm

Date

Approve

Disapprove

Und/ Neutral

ABC/ Wash Post

11/15/09

45%

48%

6%

AP-GfK

11/9/09

42%

48%

10%

Health Care

Who do you trust to do a better job handling health care reform

Polling Firm

Date

Obama

Reps

Neither

ABC/ Wash Post

11/15/09

50%

37%

10%

Approval rating on handling health care for

Polling Firm

Date

Approve

Disapprove

Und

Obama

CBS

11/15/09

44%

48%

8%

Dems in Cong.

CBS

11/15/09

30%

59%

11%

Reps in Cong.

CBS

11/15/09

23%

62%

15%

House passed Healthcare Reform Bill

Polling Firm

Date

Total Favor

Total Oppose

Oppose: Not Liberal Enough

Oppose: Too Liberal